iSECRET
by miniDeid
Summary: Secrets can be deathly, especially if the nine-tailed fox is in the mist of it all. Time to fulfill Uchiha's expectations. NaruSasu.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Hey, I hope you stay with the story and I hope it entertains you! It gets better as it progresses!

* * *

"_Ah, what a pleasant surprise."_

_He fought to keep his eyes open. He knew he failed. Now, he was just waiting for the final blow._

"_A Sharingan user. Tch, a disgrace to my race. But then again, they were all a disgraced."_

_The words barely made sense to him now as he was fighting to stay conscious._

"_Tell that Hokage of yours to stop defying me. Next time someone will die."_

* * *

"Why the long face?"

Too tired and unhappy to answer the Uchiha just responded with a blank stare. Yes, he was now a twenty-two year old ANBU member and yes, his captain had just asked him a question, but he did not feel like answering.

"Uchiha, your captain just asked you a question." A man behind wolf mask mutters darkly. They had just finished survival training that lasted two weeks.

"And you point is?" No matter how much he would have loved to ignore him they had been on the same team for three years; Sasuke knew he was too stubborn.

"You answer." He responds clearly pissed.

It made Sasuke wonder how much someone could possibly change throughout the years; back in the academy days they always competed to see who got in more trouble…at least that was in Sasuke point of view since they both got in trouble a lot. Now, he always followed the rules.

The fox-masked, who also happened to be the captain, pats Sasuke on the back. "Seriously, Sasuke, what is wrong?"

"Nothing." He says closing his eyes and looking away, but did not snap the hand away like he normally would. "I'm tired."

It was true, he was tired. Exhausted, more like it, because survival training wasn't exactly his idea of relaxation; especially when Naruto refuses to get tired…stupid chakra.

Naruto takes off his mask and grabs the man's neck forcing him to turn to him. "Well, why don't you go to sleep?" He asks almost innocently; key word: _almost_. Sasuke had more than enough experiences to tell him never to fully go to sleep with him anywhere near him. That was hard considering the fact that they lived in the same apartment, a three-bedroom apartment; Naruto, Sasuke, and, unfortunately, the copy-nin.

"Go to hell, Uzumaki," He responds glaring through the mask.

"You're so mean, Sasuke!" He whines pouting. Before he could respond to that, the last member of their team spoke up.

"I would love to see how this ends, but is too troublesome." He takes off his mask while yawning and stretching. "Anyways, I said I was picking Ino up from training. She's really troublesome when I'm late." Without any more comment he disappears in a quick puff of smoke.

"I'm going too. Gotta go now, you know, Akamaru is waiting," He mutters before disappearing. Naruto said that the training was just for humans; Kiba was forced to leave his partner behind.

"Think he's mad?" Naruto wonders out loud, his hands still restraining the Uchiha.

"Hn."

Swiftly, and sweetly, he removes his mask. "Are _you_ mad?" He whispers in his ear before biting it softly.

"Would you be mad?" He answers annoyed. He was trying to stay pissed, but Naruto's hot breath was getting on the way of accomplishing that.

"I don't know." He pauses for a second, "depends who ends in top. I mean, I was just seeing your reaction in any kind of situation—"

"You tried to rape me while training."

"I didn't try to rape you…" He grins, "I was just trying to get in you. But then again, it wasn't only me--"

"In the middle of the night?"

"You should be glad it was at night and not in the middle of the day…besides, a good shinobi is always ready for anything." Naruto says closing his eyes and remembering the day years ago when Jirayia poisoned his ramen.

"You know, must people think Orochimaru trained me in more areas that necessary," He whispers planting a kiss on his cheek. "But I think you received a more open training from Jirayia."

"Wait, you were virgin, right?" Naruto asks.

He raises a dark eyebrow, "perhaps, Naruto. I moved in with you—"

"It was Kakashi's idea!" He points out too abruptly.

"I don't remember you arguing with him."

"We just wanted to make sure—"He shifts uncomfortably. "That Orochimaru never tried anything funny on you. Or with you. Or at you. Or—"

"_Orochimaru_ never came near me, loser." He mutters putting a lot of emphasis on the name, "but Kabuto might have—"

"You're shitting me, right?" Naruto's fist suddenly becoming clinched.

"Am I?" He answers smirking.

"Sasuke—"

"Well, can you consider yourself any better?" He asks him crossing his arms around his chest. "After what you did the night I got off probation and yesterday in intense ANBU training?"

"Well…" He trails off remembering last night event.

_-Flashback, Naruto's POV-_

_It's great to be the captain; I get to boss people around. Though it is a huge responsibility too…if someone died it would be on my consciousness, but no one is going to die. My team is one of the most advanced and perfect there is in the village. With Shikamaru strategic thinking, Kiba's tracking skills, Sasuke's Sharingan…Sasuke._

_I jump from a tree to the floor trying to find any of them. We've been in this part of Konoha, outside on the forest, training for the last thirteen days. I've found Kiba twice, which ended in a battle…I ended up beating him; he needs to learn that he isn't going to bring Akamaru in all the missions. His counterattacks and defenses aren't great at all. Even a fighter like Sakura could beat him…_

…_I mean, under the right circumstances she can beat me and Sasuke too, but since she's mainly a brute force fighter and close-range as long as you stay away from her she can't harm you. But when you stay, oh man! It's painful. I miss her a lot…I want us to be a team again, but Sakura refuses to take the ANBU exam and Kakashi was poisoned in a mission. He's fine now, though, but Tsunade doesn't want to let him out of the village for at least two more months._

_Out of mere instinct I throw a kunai to bushes; I could have sworn I heard something. Might be Kiba again…I seriously doubt is Shikamaru or Sasuke. Or it might have been a rabbit or something._

"_Ow…were you trying to kill me, kid?"_

_Or a toad. A toad that, despite that I do summon them, doesn't look familiar._

"_You're the Uzumaki brat, right?" He looks exactly like Jirayia's toads._

"_Depends who's looking for me." I answer taking out two shuriken and holding them in defense mode. It could be a trap. Don't want to take any chances._

"_Hey, hey, put those things away! I am not here to kill you, or trick you, or whatever you're thinking."_

_Cautiously, I put them back, but keep holding them in case of a sudden attack. I am an ANBU captain after all._

"_I have a message from Tsunade." He pauses for a second. A message? Is probably a joke. "Listen, a couple of days ago she sent two squads to look around the area…what they found wasn't pleasant."_

_Dead corpses? I mean, crops. Yeah, those aren't pretty—_

"_Sound headbands—"_

"_Sound!" I yell forgetting that I could potentially be giving my position away. "What do you mean?" But right now that doesn't matter, nothing matters._

"_Would you let me finish? As I was saying, Sound headbands close to the border and…ten villagers dead."_

_Shit. He can't be serious, Sasuke killed Orochimaru. Sound shouldn't be working anymore._

"_In a very gruesome way."_

_I don't think about that; I've seen enough deaths to know most of them don't look pretty. Especially if it's Sound who killed them._

"_Tsunade says to watch your back." And he puffs away. Watch my back? Is she kidding? Of course I have to watch my back! Great, now it's not only Akatzuki, but also Sound. Then again, they probably don't want anything with me, is Sasuke they want…I need to tell him. What if they found him? What if something happened to him?_

"_SASUKE!" I yell at top of my lungs. My legs start moving and soon enough I'm running around trying to find him. Slowly, I start loosing control of myself and I feel Kyuubi's chakra taking over. I don't stop it, I need to find Sasuke. With that thought I complete loose track of everything as my eyes become red and fangs grow._

_-End of Flashback, Normal POV-_

"Oi, Naruto, what are you doing?" Sasuke asks shaking the man in front of him. He had become quiet and stopped moving. "Naruto?"

His head shakes, as he just came out of something, and looks at him. "Sorry, Sasuke. Listen, by any chance did you see me with abnormal things?" He asks referring to his eyes, whiskers, fangs, and anything else that grew when he wasn't himself. "I mean, last night?"

"Yes, you were acting like Kyuubi. I knew it wasn't you who found me." He smirks, "you would never find me without his help."

"Hey! That's not true! Anyways, what did I do?"

"You talked, ambushed me, and pinned me to the floor and started laughing." His smirk widens, "and just for the record, I was shadowing you the whole time."

Naruto ignores the last fact, promising to get back to it later. "What did I said?"

"Things that didn't make sense." He answers slowly. They hadn't made any sense at all and after he had finished talking Kyuubi knocked him out. This morning his whole body hurt, still did, Sasuke had a very good guess at last night's events.

"Like what?" Naruto urges him biting his lower lip nervously.

"'He wants this.'" Sasuke quotes Kyuubi's last words before everything turned into darkness. Truth was, Sasuke was confused about what everything meant and he didn't want Naruto to know before he was sure himself.

"He wants what?"

"Don't know." He shrugs, "that's what he said." He starts to walk away, _'and lots of other stuff.' _He adds mentally.

"Where you going?" If Sound had been mentioned Sasuke wouldn't be so calm, right? But then again, Sasuke had perfected the art of masks. "Wait!" He calls waving and catching up with him.

"I'm going to Sakura's." He whispers looking at the floor.

'_Man, he looks cute with his bangs covering his face.'_

'_**He does, doesn't he?'**_

'_Kyuubi?'_

'_**What, kit?'**_

'_What did you do?'_ Naruto winces as his head filled with evil laughter. Not evil, exactly, but it was coming from a demon meaning it couldn't be good.

'_**I told him what I said when I dragged him back.'**_Again the laughter _**'is almost here, kit. Better get ready and say bye-bye to your Hokage dream. Once is over there won't be a need for Hokages.'**_


	2. Chapter I: Down Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...though, every night I wish I did. But I don't, un.

First of all, thanks the people who reviewed last chapter! I very much liked to read them, un. Anyways, I hope this chapter is of your liking, un. Please feel free to ask questions, I love to answer them. I decided that this story will be updated before teh 23rd of each month, un. If the next chapter isn't up by then, you can be sure I have a very good excuse, un. I hope you enjoy it, and also I changed the title of the story; I didn't like the other one.

Chapter I: Down time

"_Tell me how old were you when they massacred your family?"_

_The words were a far away whisper for the sixteen-year-old boy, who lay in a puddle of his own blood. His previous actions subconsciously playing over his head, faster with the passing second. The chase. The tears. The smiles and the words. The threats and promises. Screams along with ninjutsu mixed with genjutsu. _

_Since his younger self had cut everything for his ultimate goal he was aware that it would end up like this. His previous teammates as badly injured as himself, barely hanging on life. He did not, however, anticipate the obvious outcome their fight had._

"_I want an answer. Something to make me believe is not worth killing you."_

_Perhaps it was the coldness of the voice and the murderous intent radiating from him that made him shiver. He knew that his future was not in the hands of the elders, or the Hokage herself, but in his old rival, the __**dobe**__. _

"_Seven, almost eight." He managed to choke out. _

"_Oh, very nice." He chuckled; reminded him of the times that snake laughed. "Let me tell you an old story while I decide if I want to kill you…"_

* * *

"So how was training?"

The youngest Uchiha open his eyes to find the female member of their Genin team. Throughout the years Sakura's body developed curves, which made her one of the most seek women in the whole village. She still wore pink like back when she was fifteen, but now she wore the gloves at all times.

"Weird," Sasuke answers closing his eyes again and resting his head on the couch.

"Oh, how come?" She wonders. "I mean, just wondering…"

"Well, for one thing, Naruto and Inuzuka were the only ones who spar against anyone. For another," he stops for a second contemplating whether or not to tell her. "Well, it was just weird."

"Oh." She knew there was something else, but decides not to press the matter, instead she smiles, "another reason why I shouldn't test for ANBU—"

Her sentence was interrupted by running footsteps hurrying down the stairs. Both of them sigh as they see the self-proclaimed Hokage, fall down and land face down in the wooden floor.

"There goes my captain," Sasuke mutters slightly amused; Sakura just giggles.

Naruto stands up and, despite that his nose was bleeding, he runs up to Sasuke and was about to hit him, but was stopped by a firm hand.

"Tell me again, why are you a captain?" Sakura mutters placing a hand over Naruto's nose. Green chakra appeared and the blood stopped running out. "You're as clumsy as I remember you from two weeks ago."

"If you were an ANBU and, obviously, on my team, you would get to see that I am not clumsy on missions…and I'm getting better in daily life." He whispers the last part, murmuring more to himself than the other two.

"Naruto, we've been over this—"

"But is not fair! Is bad enough Kakashi-sensei doesn't come on missions anymore with us—"

"You should be happy for him that he got promoted!"

"I am, but it's still not fair!"

"Besides, you took his place, didn't you?"

"Now you're making me feel like is my fault!"

"Okay, Naruto, we're not getting anywhere anytime soon—"

"Don't you two find it weird that Kakashi was poisoned right after the promotion?" They turn to look at Sasuke, who had been observing in silence the entire time.

"Well, not really, I mean, things like that happened on missions." Sakura answers.

"Not really…I mean, Kakashi-sensei is one of the strongest shinobi in the whole village, everyone knows that. Not to mention that he is well-known everywhere else." Naruto seats down next to Sasuke, who glares at him, but he just ignored it. "The person who got close enough to him most be really strong." He turns to look at the Uchiha, "cut it out, teme."

"Everyone has someone who is stronger than themselves; even Tsunade-sama and Jirayia-sama…and Orochimaru."

"Tell you truth, Sakura, Orochimaru wasn't all that strong."

"He still killed the Third—"

"With a lot of help from the two previous Hokages—"

"huh?"

"Never mind that. The point is that Kakashi must have gone to a top mission and he doesn't want us to know about it." He stands up, "I've tried to convince him to tell me something about it, but is not working." He grunts, "Is annoying."

Sakura frowns; she didn't like that word, it brought back painful memories to her. Memories that she didn't want to remember at all. Shacking her head a little to get a grip of herself, she looks up and smiles, "well, we'll try later together; he can't possibly resist his three favorite students. Here, you guys go on ahead, I'll go buy food and then I'll go to your apartment."

"Okay," they both say before puffing away.

* * *

"You're still supposed to be on the hospital."

The Hokage, seated behind her desk in the most comfortable chair in the world, glares at the shinobi who had nerve of appearing in her office without knocking first. Where did the respect for Hokages go to?

Said man smiles and rubs the back of his head, "you see, I got bored of doing nothing—"

"You think I care? Not only did you disobey the Hokage's orders, but also the medic's in charge of the hospital."

"I'm saving you the trouble of filling all that paperwork later on." He says referring to the great amount of paper that had to be done in order to let someone out. "I was just curious, do you know if they came back already?"

"They did, actually, a member just left a couple of minutes ago." She answers turning her chair to look out the window. The village had grown nicely since she came into office; the chaos of the Third's death brought impacted the villagers for quite a long time, but now they were no longer short on ninjas and the economy was flourishing.

"How did it go?"

"He looked happy."

"Oh, okay…well, I'm going now." He waves and walks towards the door when his hand held the knob he stops. "Oh, by the way, you might want to stop drinking so much. You let me out of the hospital awhile ago. Bye!" He puffs away.

Tsunade raises her eyebrows, if he was just going to disappear why bother with the door?

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura calls while knocking on the door with her foot. Her hands were holding the Ramen she had bought. "Open the door!" She knocks again pondering whether she should just break it.

"We can't!" She heard Naruto's voice "is open."

She places down the food and turns the knob. She picks it up again and walks in. "Where are you guys?" She asks looking around. Was the whole male population so messy? Shirts, pants, Kunai, Shuriken, scrolls, plastic plates, and other stuff Sakura didn't want to know about made it impossible to see the floor. Trying not to step on anything, and swearing she was going to make them clean everything, she walks towards the kitchen, where their chakra was.

"Yo!" She smiles.

Their former teacher hadn't changed much since they were teenagers. His hair was still gray-silverish, his headband still covered the Sharingan, and he wore the mask to cover half his face. They came to the conclusion it was just to bother them and amuse the older man. He was still handsome and no one could guess he was actually in his early-thirties; some people even claimed he was just a year or two older than his former students.

"How is it going, Sakura?" He asks.

"Good, how about you, Kakashi-sensei?" Without waiting for a response she continues, "Are you feeling better? The poison effects shouldn't be that strong anymore. Shizune took every ounce of it out of your system, but it could be affecting your immune system making it—"

"I'm fine," he interrupts her. He knew she was entering her 'medic mode'. "Except…well, there is this thing—"

"What?"

She's truly worried and he felt a bit guilty, "they hid my favorite book!"

"We did not!" Naruto whines.

That's when Sakura notice why they hadn't opened the door for her. Naruto was on the floor with Kakashi seated on top of him, the older man held both his hands above his head. With his other hand he restrained the dark-haired one by the collar of his shirt. It didn't look like Kakashi was making much of an effort to hold them down, so why didn't they just break free? Naruto's training couldn't have worn them out so much, right?

"Yes, you did." Kakashi mutters, "Now, I'm just going to ask this one more time…where did you put my Itcha Itcha Paradise?"

"For the last time, we didn't get it from you," Sasuke mutters darkly. In a second Kakashi pulled his collar up, Sasuke's hands held it downward trying not to let it completely choke him.

"Don't you think you're been a bit silly? I mean is just a book—"

Time froze. A silence fell among the three males; written in the younger's faces was pure horror. Soon enough, hell broke loose.

"It is not only a book. It is more than a book." His voice was low and calm. "Is the present my teacher gave to me. Now, if you didn't take it then you're going to help me find it."

The three of them knew the silver-haired man enough to know nothing good could come out of those words.

* * *

"You think they should know?"

"I don't know. Why do you think I've been drinking so much?"

"Because you're a hopeless addict?"

"As much as you're a hopeless writer."

"What are you talking about, my books are best-sellers!"

"…you're an idiot."

"I am not. Besides, I was here to help you, but apparently you don't need my help; though if I were you I would send the two of them in a mission to find out more about it. That way you won't have to tell them anything you don't want to and they get to bring us more information."

"And if something happens to them? I don't really think I should let neither of them out of my sight right at this very moment."

"Why not? Akatzuki hasn't been active in almost half a year."

"They could just be waiting for the perfect chance."

"I don't think so. I really think you should send them. They can even improve their teamwork—"

"Their teamwork is flawless. Besides you just want them to spent time together to get inspiration."

"I'm not the only one. A few of their friends have been taking bets on how much sex they have per week. I, personally, agree with Nara's who said—"

"Bets? I need the money! Where do I place my bet?"

"What makes you think you could win?"

"…I know I can win."

"Is not fair if your powers over them help you win."

"Is that in the rules?"

"There are no rules."

"Exactly."

"I'm not telling you where the betting is taking place."

"I can find out on my own."

"You have tough competitors. Like I said, Nara's guess seems pretty accurate."

"How would you know?"

"Please, I think I know my student."

"Yes, but not the other one—"

"No, but Kakashi does. Besides, we all know who is dominant."

"Of course, is obvious, but it wasn't that obvious before…"

"No, it wasn't, but I like it more this way."

"Me too."

* * *

The Ramen, now cold, was on the table forgotten. Since Sasuke and Naruto said they hadn't taken the book they had spent the rest of the evening looking for the book. Along the way, Sakura made them clean the house.

"Kakashi-sensei, this is not fair!" Naruto whines closing the fifth garbage bag.

Both Kakashi and Sakura were seated on the couch, which had been the first thing cleaned up, looking amused at the other two males.

"We didn't take your book, Kakashi." Sasuke mutters darkly glaring at him. The older man was unaffected by the murderous look and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Now, now, Sasuke," He smiles. "Where do you think Naruto learn everything about sex? I'm sure you didn't take it, but he did." Before either of them could complain he continues, "Besides, good lovers should stick to each other in any kind of situation."

"Kakashi-sensei, I don't think that was very necessary." Sakura points out raising an eyebrow at him.

"It's true. Now, hurry up and find it. I can't sleep without it."

* * *

I Hope you all enjoyed that! I'll give you an insight of the mission Kakashi went if you can guess correctly who Tsunade was talking about when she said: "He looked happy." Anyways, hope everyone review!

Yours truly,

miniDeid


	3. Chapter II: The mission

Hey, another chapter! And I'm suprise I actually finished it before the deadline...I feel proud of myself! Anyways, please review and tell me how I can improve!

Disclaimer: I don't own it...but I wish I did, but I don't. Like seriously.

Chapter 2: The mission and teams

"_My summoner didn't have enough power to hold me off…" his red eyes flickered in the darkness watching the younger boy. "So, you see, he made a deal with me…" he still couldn't make up his mind on whether or not he should continue talking; it would be far more amusing if he just left him in the dark. "But storytelling time is over. Now, we're going back to that village…"_

_In a flash he knocked the boy out. Indeed, the next years will be amusing._

* * *

"Sasuke…you're so mean." Naruto looks up from the floor up to the bed where he was supposed to be sleeping in, but apparently he had done something wrong…wanting sex was not wrong.

"You're perverted." The dark-haired man answers looking down at him and smirking. "Don't even think of getting back up."

"I'm not a kid! You can't order me around!" He yells standing up and pointing at him.

"Well, stop acting like one."

"I'm not."

The Sharingan flashed for an instant before it disappeared again. His face paled as he realized the red chakra pouring out of Naruto. The Sharingan activated again. Fangs grew and his whiskers became darker.

No, he couldn't have gotten that mad, right? The Sharingan kept turning on without his consent. What was happening to him? It was like someone was controlling him, like he didn't have control over his own body.

"Naruto…" he whispers not sure what to expect.

"…Fuck you."

Perhaps he felt guilty for throwing him off the bed; perhaps that's why he didn't resist. Or maybe because he wanted it.

* * *

Five in the morning Kakashi was in front of the memorial stone letting his memories drown him into a merciless, painful ocean.

Before it had only been a tad bit of guiltiness and nostalgia, but now, after that mission, it had become a constant reminder of all his mistakes and the ones he would make.

He had to talk to him. No matter what Tsunade had told him, he had to. At this point it wasn't a matter about disobeying orders, it was a measure of safety that had to be done. Yes, he would have a long talk with Sasuke about…things.

He winces under his mask, glad no one could see him. Just the thought of that type of conversation with him scared him; it was weird, not a lot of things made scared him, but this one did. Just talking to Sasuke Uchiha did. His prodigy and former student.

The world is seriously messed up, with that in mind he disappeared.

Now he stood in front of his house deciding whether or not he should go in. Taking a deep breath he jumps up and gets through their window, they were still sleeping, cuddled together.

Naruto's arms were wrapped around Sasuke's waist, his face resting on top of Sasuke's.

"YO!"

He manages to dodge the kunai and shuriken that were thrown to kill him.

Both of his former students glaring at him, a murderous chakra glowing over them.

"Hey, you just tried to kill your favorite teacher!" They kept staring. "Anyways, Naruto, Sakura was to talk to you…privately." Hopefully Sakura will understand to keep him with her today. "She said hurry up or she will come for you and kick you all the way to Suna."

A silence until, "get out. I need to put some clothes on."

Kakashi couldn't help but grin. Then a smirk, they didn't say anything. He walked out of the room and waiting on the living room taking out his book. He heard a few mumbles and five minutes later Naruto appeared, followed by Sasuke; Kakashi couldn't help but notice he was limping.

They both wore the Jounin uniform.

"Hey where did you find that book?" Naruto asks annoyed he couldn't find it.

"Oh, I forgot I put it under the pillow so you wouldn't find it. Anyways, now go on, I'm sure you don't want to go to Suna right now."

"…fine." Naruto walked out leaving the two Sharingan users alone.

"What do you want Kakashi?" Sasuke wonders crossing his arms on his chest.

"You caught up rather quickly."

"Sakura called earlier…she said she was working on the hospital. She wanted to know if we could bring her lunch. She didn't want to talk to Naruto."

"Smart boy."

"Cut it out, Kakashi." He mutters annoyed.

"Fine, what do you know about Kyuubi?" He asks paying close attention to Sasuke's reaction.

He was caught off guard and he couldn't help but show surprise. Images from the night conjured up in his mind, but that couldn't be what Kakashi was talking about.

"Nothing much." He lies. When he fought Kyuubi he told a lot of things and he said that he should never repeat them.

Kakashi detected the lie as soon as it left his mouth, but he wasn't here to prove him wrong. He needed to talk and soon. The faster he did, the faster it would be over with.

"Listen, Sasuke. The mission I went on," the younger man walked closer, clearly interested. "It regarded Akatzuki and Sound. They want to morph together."

"So?" That was the mission they were so interested in? What a disappointment. Akatzuki and sound were nothing special anymore. Sure, they were bunch of missin nins, he had been too.

"So…do you know how your clan formed? How the Sharingan was made? Why Naruto has the Kyuubi? Why your Sharingan kept activating last night as Naruto let Kyuubi's chakra free?"

"…I have guesses."

* * *

"Naruto, for the last time leave me alone!"

"You wanted to see me!"

"I did not!"

"You told Kakashi to get me!"

"I haven't seen Kakashi since yesterday, idiot!"

"Tell me already what you wanted to tell me!"

"Okay, fine," she smiles seeing Naruto leaning closer. "This is why I don't join ANBU!" Before he could say anything she continues, "Now get out of the hospital and let me work or I'll kick you to the next century!"

Naruto left not wanting to stay; the next century was definitely worse than Suna.

As soon as Naruto left, Sakura sprinted all the way to the Hokage tower. She waved to Genma and Raidou who carried piles and piles of paperwork away from Tsunade's office; possibly to the mission room.

If Kakashi told Naruto she wanted to talk to him…that didn't sound like Kakashi at all. Something was going on and she was going to find out. Whoever to ask than the Hokage?

She knocks on the door and waits for an answer. She opens it as soon as she hears: "come in".

"Ah, hello Sakura. Just the person I needed to talk to." Tsunade sat in her usual chair, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, you need something?" She asks politely, looking around her office.

A soft smile appears on her face seeing the wall where pictures were. Tsunade's Genin team, a picture of Shizune and Tsunade, and then the same picture with Sakura in it; the last one was one that had been taken when she was nineteen. It had Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke in ANBU uniform with her in the middle with her usual outfit. That picture was taken the day after both Naruto and Sasuke made it into ANBU.

"Here they come." Sakura turns back; the door was opening.

Kiba, Shikamaru, and Ino walked in; they greet Sakura with a quick wave and they all turn back at Tsunade, who now stood.

"Where are the other ones?" She fumes. As on cue, the door opens once again; Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Sai.

"Hey, ugly!" He waves cheerfully to Sakura; deciding it wasn't worth hitting him, she takes quick breaths and successfully calms herself down.

"Everyone, make yourself comfortable. We're missing a few people." She orders and seats down again. "Just don't talk. I'm not in the mood."

Everyone knew not to disobey her, so they didn't say anything.

* * *

"Hey, Uzumaki! Tsunade wants to talk to you!"

Naruto looks up from his seventh bowl of Ramen and finds Genma looking at him. "Yeah, okay, I'll go."

Genma puffs away and Naruto returns to his food. Tsunade could wait awhile.

After loosing count of his bowls, Naruto looks up once again and finds the old man staring at him.

"Um?"

"Wasn't the Hokage waiting for you?"

"…oh, shit. I'll pay you later, old man!" and he disappeared in the crowd.

"He'll never change..."

* * *

"I'M HERE!" Naruto bangs the door open and struggles to get inside the room standing up.

"FINALLY! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?"

"I'M SORRY! I FORGOT!"

"I'LL HAVE YOU REMOVED FROM ANBU!"

"YOU CAN'T DO THAT!"

"YES, I CAN!"

"I'M SORRY!"

"Tsunade-sama, now that we're all here—"Ino starts.

"YOU'RE NOT ALL HERE! WE'RE MISSING HATAKE AND UCHIHA!"

They all sweatdropped because they knew they would be waiting quite awhile. Somehow, since Sasuke came back, he inherited Kakashi's lateness.

XXX Three Hours Later XXX

"Yo!" White smoke hid the two people, but they all knew who they were.

"Hatake, Uchiha, three hours! Three hours! You're Shinobi; if you can't grasp the concept of punctuality I'll suspend you from duty!"

Sasuke smirks, those threats. They weren't real, both Kakashi and him knew that she would never do that. The elders wouldn't let her get rid of two of the best shinobis in the village.

"Sorry, sorry, we were catching up in some stuff." Kakashi apologizes and Sasuke smirk grows wider; if only they knew.

"Liar…anyways, tomorrow at dawn" she looks at the new arrivals. "You leave the village for a mission. Hyuuga, you'll be taking Lee, Tenten, and Ino. Kakashi, you're taking Nara and Uchiha."

"WHAT?" Naruto yells at top of his lungs glaring at Tsunade.

She merely ignored him and continued assigning teams. "Sakura, you're taking Kiba, Sai, and Uzumaki."

It wasn't Naruto complaining again, "Tsunade-sama, I'm a Jounin. I don't think you should send me as team leader—"

"That's why I'm the Hokage and you're not, Sakura. No more arguments, Hatake, you're team will be the first to leave; an hour before the rest. You'll be gathering data and clearing the path for the rest." She opens a drawer and gets out scrolls. "The details are in here," she throws them to the captains, who caught it without skipping a beat. "I expect everyone back alive."

Kakashi opens the scroll. He felt Sasuke reading over his shoulder and close it tight. "Tsunade, are you sure about the people you're sending—"

"Yes."

At least it was one person who seemed sure about this mission, because Kakashi himself was a little anxious; something he hadn't felt since he was a teen. He really hoped the Hokage knew what she was doing.

* * *

Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! By the way, MelissaKS, thanks for reviewing and the one saying that was Shika...he was happy cuz he didn't have anything to do for two weeks. Anyways, keep reading cuz next chapter:

Sasuke:

Kakashi closed teh scroll before I could read anything...I don't like this. To top it all, Naruto won't talk to me and Kyuubi keeps taking control. The Sharingan is all messed up too...


	4. Chapter III: Leaving

Disclaimer: I don't own it, but I do have the most adorable Deidara pulshie!

A/N: Yeah...looooong pass the 23rd...ummm...yeah, well, I didn't have inspiration, but now I do, thanks to someone! I hope this chapter is good and please tell me what you think!

* * *

Chapter 3: Leaving

-Xxx-

"_What's that supposed to mean?" He asks struggling with the ropes around his ankles and wrist and bounding his chakra. _

_At this point it didn't matter if he was killed or not. It was just not important to him anymore. He deserved death._

"_What do you think it means?" His captor replies, his face hidden by the darkness of the night._

"_Well, I wouldn't have asked if I had an idea." He snaps back, fighting to stay conscious._

"_Listen, kid, back at the beginnings of Konoha…a few clans fought for power. It was then, that a boy found the ultimate source of it. It was too much, and now that power wants his rewards for his services."_

_Why was he telling him this? Wasn't he supposed to kill him? They fought, he won, so what was he waiting for?_

"_You don't get it…but you will soon enough."_

"…_fuck you."_

_The captor chuckles softly, "but now I'm going to show you a bit of that power." He raises his hand, black chakra quickly gathering around it. "Good night, Sasuke." He places it on his chest._

_The last thing he feels is his insights burning before passing out._

--XXxx--

Shikamaru Nara was known for been a lazy pessimist. He put the less required effort in every day task and made a point to sleep as much as he could.

If it was in another situation he would complained about how early he was woken up, but if it was one thing he was serious and gave his best was during missions.

Getting out of his warm, cozy bed he gears up; he straps his katana securely behind his back and puts his ANBU mask covering his troubled expression.

He wasn't picky about his teammates, in fact, he had learned to work with Uchiha in the last three years very well, yet he couldn't shake the feeling of his throat. There was something going on.

First there was Uchiha and Kakashi been late for three hours and, despite common belief, that wasn't common. True, both of them were known for always showing up at least half an hour later, but the last time they both showed up three hours late _together_ was…the first day after his probation.

Then there were the teams Tsunade put together.

Hyuuga with Lee and Tenten, he could understand, even Ino. Hyuuga was ANBU captain of Lee and Tenten and Sai also; Ino was also ANBU, currently training under Ibiki Morino, rumor was, as soon as he retired she was taking his place as Head of the Interrogation of ANBU. That team didn't have a problem, but the other two…

Kakashi, Uchiha, and himself; he could see how that worked. They had worked on the same team for a long time, but…Naruto wasn't there. Since Uchiha was allowed back on missions they always went together. He had no doubt that Tsunade did it on purpose, but why…that was what bothered him.

Then there was the last team: Sakura, Kiba, Sai, and Naruto. They all worked together well, but why did she put a Jounin as captain? Instead of an ANBU captain? The logic behind it was screwed up.

He walks down the hallway; both Ino and Choji were still asleep. Choji was a Jounin, training for his own Genin team. They lived together since Asuma's death on a three-bedroom apartment.

Shikamaru would never admit it to anyone, but he took great pride on not sticking his nose on other people's business, but as he walks out of his house he silently vows to figure out what exactly was happening.

--XXxx--

"Naruto, come on." Sasuke says, hiding the pleading on his voice as much as he could.

Since they had woken up, at four in the morning, Naruto ignored him, only acknowledging his existence when he felt like kissing him or caressing him. Other than that, it was like he wasn't there.

"Naruto, why are you acting so immature?" Sasuke asks, going through his drawers. "Look, I really don't know what I'm supposed to do. It wasn't my fault we're in different teams."

"Oh, shut up," Naruto growls, watching him passed the room.

"Please," this time he didn't bother to hide his pleading. "I don't want to go off on a mission…and then…" he trails off. "Not coming back."

"Well, we are coming back." Naruto's voice was incredibly softer. Sasuke did raise a point. "Don't worry about that. I wasn't mad at you either…I was just thinking…"

"Don't strain yourself, dobe." He says out of habit.

"I will as long as you do," he answers smiling. They both fell silent.

Sasuke was looking for his katana; the one Orochimaru gave him, through the pile of clothes lying on the floor. Even after all the things it represented and all the years that passed, he refused to give it up. It was powerful. It was reminder.

A reminder that he was the luckiest person in the world. A reminder of how selfish he was. How immature. How power-hungry he was. It was a painful reminder, but one that he just couldn't give up.

Naruto's eyes follow the raven-haired shinobi. Why had he gotten mad at him? He knew Tsunade's choice was not his fault, he knew there was a deeper reason for her to put them in different teams, but he just couldn't imagine not been with him.

The thing was, he wasn't mad at him, at all. He was just thinking, glancing at him once in awhile, not saying anything. He kissed him to make sure he was still there. Back in Tsunade's office, when the teams were announced, a fear of Sasuke leaving him again took over.

He remembered little about coming back to the house, in fact, he didn't remember much until Sasuke's pleading began. It worried him, no recollections, almost as if Kyuubi…

"Sasuke, we're leaving in five minutes!" Kakashi's voice yelled from outside the room knocking twice.

Sasuke didn't bother answering; he was in ANBU uniform now, his cat-mask hanging from his neck, with his katana, which was found under a pile of dirty clothes, strapped to his back.

"Sasuke?" Naruto whispers apprehensive. He turns in acknowledgment with a small smile decorating his features. "I love you."

He didn't like this mission. It was wrong. All wrong. He didn't know why and at this point he really didn't care, but he knew it was wrong. It was almost like…like it was the last time Sasuke would be with him.

Slowly Naruto makes his way until he was standing in front of Sasuke.

"I love you too, Naruto." He smiles resting his head under his chin and closing his eyes.

This mission…so many loopholes: the teams, the lack of information…so far, the only thing Sasuke knew was that they would be gathering information and opening the area for the others. Gathering information of what, that was still unclear. If he had only gotten a glimpse of Kakashi's scroll…

Naruto's arm wrap around his waist puling him closer, tighter; he was hugging so tight that Sasuke was finding it hard to breath. "Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"I'm sorry I was a jerk…"

"Don't worry about it, Naruto, I'm always one and you always forgive me." His voice was muffle by Naruto's chest, but he knew he heard him.

"Oh, but Sasuke, I don't think of you as a jerk," Naruto says seriously, patting him in his head.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he plays with his hair. "I think of you more like a…uke. My uke."

"Sasuke! Hurry up!" Kakashi knocks on the door again, harder and faster.

They both turn to face the door.

"You better get going," Naruto points out, looking away from him, but still holding him.

"Is going to be fine, dobe. We might be in different teams, but we're still in the same mission." He points out softly, touching his whisker-cheeks.

"Yeah, you're right!" Before Sasuke could react, Naruto plants a quick kiss on his cheek, turns him around, and walks him to the door. "I'll see you in awhile," he opens the door.

"Take care and try to eat something besides Ramen," Sasuke says.

"I will, just for you." He whispers in his ear and pats him on his butt, smirking. "I love you. You know that, right? Whatever happens, right?"

"Yeah, you know that too, right?" Sasuke asks, grabbing the place where Naruto's hand had been just seconds ago. He wasn't going to admit it, but it stung, he had used chakra, more than he usually did.

Naruto smiles, "Of course I do."

--XXxx—

"We'll travel north until we get to the borders of Fire. We'll separate from there to scout the areas; we'll meet back in five days with the others in the border of Wind. Any questions?" Kakashi says from behind his mask glancing at his two companions.

The sun peaked out from behind the Hokages Monument, the sky painted of tints of red, orange, and yellow. It was a beautiful sight. The wind was blowing coolly, playing with the three man's hair.

Shikamaru and Sasuke look at each other and then back at the older man.

"What exactly are we suppose to be gathering about?" Sasuke asks, though he had a very good idea; the borders of Fire towards North…that was the Rice Country; used to be Sound territory.

"Awhile back, during a scouting mission, the teams found…Sound activity. Our mission is to find as much as we can about their plans."

Sasuke's fist clench subconsciously. Any mention of Sound brought back…memories he didn't like remembering at all.

"Why are we meeting them in Wind then?" Shikamaru asks.

"Sand is assisting us; both Temari and Kankaru will join us there. From there, we'll move towards Mist."

"Why—"They both star, but Kakashi cut them off.

"I don't want to overwhelm you. Right now, focus on the task at hand. Gather everything you can about Sound…" he pauses. "And Akatzuki."

They nod simultaneously before leaping into a three and leaving behind Konoha gates.

--XXxx—

"Okay, we're going to Wind. It's a three day journey. We'll stay there for two, when Kakashi's team will arrive." Sakura tells the three people in front of her. She was nervous, her hands were sweaty, and she felt the lack of oxygen.

She was a Jounin, and she had been in several missions as leader, but not to three ANBU. She still couldn't understand why exactly she was captain and not Naruto.

"So we're just traveling?" Kiba asks, seating on his loyal companion, Akamaru. Unlike Naruto's training, Tsunade had thought appropriate to let Akamaru tag along. She said he would be quite useful.

"Yes." Sakura replies, she could feel the disappointment radiating from her teammates. "Any other questions?"

They all shake their heads. Kiba and Sai put their masks, and lift their hoods, completely covering any sign of familiarity.

Naruto smiles before reaching into his cape and pulling out a mask. He gets closer to the pink-haired kuniochi and places it on her hands. His smile widens seeing her confusion.

"It's an S-rank mission, Sakura. You're traveling with three ANBU. If you went uncovered it would raise suspicion. Even if you're not ANBU, is for your safety."

"Naruto…"

He grins before putting his own mask. "Come on, Sakura."

She looks at it, it had a simple design: two, red stripes on the cheeks and one between the ears coming down to the bridge of the nose. She smiles, before putting it on. It was cold, but quite comfortable; she guessed it makes sense, during a fight you wanted to be comfortable.

"Thank you." She whispers not sure if anyone heard her.

"You're welcome," Naruto's voice said. "By the way, they have radios; we can hear you even if you whisper. So, basically we can, but others can't."

"Thank you." She whispers again.

"Oh, stop thanking him. The only reason he gave it to you was to cover your ugliness, ugly." Sai voice came, but before a verbal fight could happen Sakura cuts in.

"Okay, let's move out." She orders.

"Wait!" Naruto says. Kiba and Akmaru were already running, but stopped, almost falling off. "Shouldn't we wait for Neji's?"

"They're taking a different route."

--XXxx—

"Why aren't we traveling with them?" Ino asks.

They were just outside of Konoha, on top of trees. They had stopped for Neji to give instructions, now it was question time!

"The teams were divided for different purposes," Neji says. Ino raises her eyebrow, what did that have to do with her question? "Hatake, Nara, and Uchiha are gathering information; that means infiltration; something they're all good at."

No, really? A former missing-nin should be good at that.

"Sakura's is built as a back-up team." Neji continues, "While our," he looks at them. "Focus, is on interrogation and brute fighting. Does that answer your question?" Neji asks, not bothering with an answer and jumping to another tree followed by Lee.

"Ummm…" Ino trails off, more confused than before. Why couldn't he have said something like: "Because is dangerous." Or, "They left already."

"He means that even if this is the same mission, we have different things to do, but anyways, we're meeting them in like four days." Tenten tells her and Ino let out a relief sigh.

"I'm just happy you're on this team too," she says. They both jump to another tree following the male members. "I guess you're use to them by now, right?" She says pointing to Neji and Lee, who had slow the pace clearly waiting for them.

"Yeah, we're been in the same team for like eleven years."

"Most be nice," Ino says, hiding his longing for his Genin team.

"Yeah, I think we're the only ones who are still…well, the same."

"You are, take my team; Shikamaru is in Naruto's team, Choji is preparing for his own Genin team, and I'm under the tutelage of Ibiki."

"How's that going?" Tenten wonders; she wasn't trying to change the conversation, she was really, genially curious.

"Fine, I think he trusts me more." She giggles softly, "I never thought…remember how he was in our first Chunin exam? I never thought I would learn from him…I thought he was…"

"scary." Tenten finishes for her.

"Yup, but now," she lowers her voice and Tenten has to lean in. "Don't tell him I said this, but now I think he's nice."

Tenten lets out a heartily laugh; Ino saying that of Ibiki, that was something to laugh about.

"Do you know when he's retiring?"

She doesn't answer for awhile and they keep going in silent, catching up until they were only a tree away from Neji and Lee, who had managed to have a conversation with the Hyuuga prodigy.

"He says he still has energy for a bit more, maybe two years, perhaps three."

"Will you two focus?" an annoyed Hyuuga mutters under his breath. "This is important and any mess-ups can cost us lives."

--XXxx--

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